Off Mound, Bennett Falters With Bat

Last week, Utah softball player Cyndee Bennett returned to the site of a bittersweet memory.

The sophomore second baseman from Glendale High stepped into the visitors’ dugout at Cal State Northridge before a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Matadors and pointed to the bench.

“I told everyone I sat right there in the all-star game,” Bennett said. “It really did bring back memories.”

Bennett hasn’t forgotten how she was snubbed during what could have been her day in the spotlight. In the 1993 San Fernando Valley All-Star game, Bennett, a top pitcher at Glendale, was denied a chance to pitch because Hoover Coach Kirt Kohlmeier elected to use Nancy Evans all nine innings.

Since her days as a youth player, Bennett had been overshadowed by Evans, a standout at Bennett’s rival school.

Kohlmeier’s decision sparked bitter disappointment for Bennett and protest from coaches of the West team (which lost, 4-0, and struck out 15 times against Evans).

“I wanted to get out there and show everyone that I could pitch just as well as Nancy,” Bennett said. “She’s a great pitcher. I’m not taking anything away from her at all.

“But I was very frustrated. My whole four years I felt I got gypped a little bit. Nancy was the great pitcher, and then there was Cyndee.”

Evans went on to help Arizona win its second consecutive NCAA championship last season. At Utah, Bennett posted a modest 7-3 record and an earned-run average of 1.93.

But Bennett distanced the much-heralded Evans with her batting, hitting .367 and setting Utah season records for home runs (12) and runs batted in (49). She also ranked 12th in the NCAA in home runs per game (0.19).

“I was a freshman,” she said. “Nobody knew who I was, and I batted behind a big No. 4 hitter. I think the pitchers thought, ‘I’ve got the fourth batter out of the way. Now I can just groove pitches into the fifth batter.’

“Thank you very much.”

Bennett is off to a slower start in 1995--she has no home runs and only four RBIs in 19 games--in part because she has been moved into the No. 4 spot and doesn’t see as many good pitches. She is also adjusting to a new position, second base, and is not being used as a pitcher.

“We’re much weaker, defensively, with her on the mound,” said Ute assistant coach Michele Townsend. “We just need her real bad at second base.”

Bennett has pitched three scoreless innings, striking out two and walking one. Her .310 batting average ranks 17th in the WAC.

“It’s surprising that she hasn’t had any home runs, but she’s hitting the ball well,” Townsend said. “She gets real mental sometimes, but she’s doing great for us.”

Bennett, who was used as a designated hitter last year when not pitching, said she just has to adjust.

“At the beginning of the season, I was nervous,” she said. “The No. 4 hitter has this big stereotype. You have to hit home runs, get all the RBIs. But after I did awful in the first tournament, I decided just to get base hits and RBIs.

“I like pitching. I think I have the most-important pitching job--relief. They need somebody to come in and put a spark back into the team.”

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Around the world: In women’s basketball, former Oregon forward Sara Wilson (Hart) scored 18 points to help Bro Basket of Orebro, Sweden, defeat Visby, 92-75, last week in the semifinals of the Swedish Elite Division playoffs.

Wilson’s Orebro team, advancing to the final for the first time, opened a five-game series on Wednesday for the national championship against Stockholm, which is led by former Stanford All-American Jennifer Azzi.

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Around the country: In men’s basketball, guard David Langley (College of the Canyons) scored 36 points and Rasaan Hall (Crespi/Canyons) had 15 to help Quincy University defeat Kentucky Wesleyan, 111-104, in the Great Lakes regional consolation game in the NCAA Division II tournament. Langley was chosen to the all-region team. . . .

In baseball, senior outfielder Brodie Van Wagenen (Crespi) leads Stanford with a .333 batting average and a .500 slugging percentage. Freshman Jon Schaeffer (Harvard-Westlake) has a .292 average. . . . Westmont shortstop Greg Thompson (Alemany) has a .373 batting average, a .542 slugging percentage and a .949 fielding average. . . .

UCLA pitchers Bobby Kazmirski (Agoura) and Jim Parque (Crescenta Valley) have records of 0-2 and 1-3 but carry respectable earned-run averages of 2.82 and 3.94. Parque, a freshman, has struck out 47 batters in 45 2/3 innings, while Kazmirski leads the Bruins with four saves. . . .

In softball, senior first baseman Amy Chellevold (Thousand Oaks), who batted .504 last season, entered this week’s Fullerton tournament batting .510 for No. 1-ranked Arizona. Junior second baseman Jenny Dalton (Glendale) had a .457 average, 12 home runs and 51 RBIs. Junior Krista Gomez (Alemany) was batting .405, while sophomore Nancy Evans (Hoover) was 13-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 80 innings. . . .

Arizona State outfielder Erin Hull (Hart) is batting .322 with an on-base percentage of .484. Freshman pitchers Carrie Breedlove (Bell-Jeff) and Jessica Shapiro (Granada Hills) have ERAs of 1.93 and 3.63. Breedlove leads the team with 45 strikeouts. . . .

Fresno State junior center fielder Jenifer Henry (Buena) leads the Western Athletic Conference in RBIs (32), doubles (nine) and bases on balls (14). She ranks seventh in the conference in batting (.351), while senior third baseman Melissa Thatcher (Agoura) is 20th (.293).